Many vehicles, particularly trucks, but also some automobiles, have two gas tanks. Thus, for example, many pickup truck options available from major automobile companies include the possibility of providing two gasoline tanks, one mounted on the left-hand side of the vehicle and the other mounted on the right-hand side of the vehicle. These tanks are normally provided with individual filler port fittings, one located on the left side of the vehicle for filling the left-hand tank, and the other filler port fitting located on the right-hand side of the car for filling the right-hand tank. In addition, the vehicles are usually provided with a solenoid valve switch which may be operated from the driver's seat, so that the driver may elect to use fuel from either one tank or the other.
The arrangements as described in the preceding paragraph have certain disadvantages. Thus, for example, if a heavily loaded truck with a trailer comes into a gas station, it must initially fill one tank with the gasoline pump being located on one side of the vehicle; and then the driver must maneuver the truck around so that the other side of the truck is adjacent to the gasoline pump to fill the second tank. Particularly when the truck is heavily loaded and has a large trailer attached to it, this operation may be difficult and timeconsuming.
It has also previously been proposed to have a single filler pipe for more than one gas tank, and a typical arrangement of that type is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,884,255, granted May 20, 1975, to Mr. Ralph H. Merkle. However, in this type of arrangement, there is only a single filler pipe, which directs gasoline to both tanks, using a Y-junction in the filler pipeline adjacent the two gasoline tanks, and with no arrangements being provided for selectively filling one gasoline tank or the other. Such a system may be satisfactory under optimum operating conditions, but can give rise to serious problems when any minor malfunction occurs. Thus, for example, if the solenoid valve switch fails to allow the tanks to be switched, or if one of the tanks develops a leak or becomes disabled or fouled for some reason, the user is not able to supply gasoline to a selected one of the two tanks which he might wish to use.
Accordingly, a pricipal object of the present invention, is to overcome the problems of prior dual fuel tank arrangements, and permit the filling of either or both gas tanks concurrently from only one side of the vehicle.